grant



w mun B. GRANT, or ELimUnsr, ew YORK.

. HOSPITAL MEDICINE-TRAY.

Application filed 0etober7, 1918. Serial no. 257,200.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILBUR B. a citizen of theUnited States, and dentof Elmhurst, borough of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of New GRANT,

'York, have invented a new and Improved Hospital Medicine-Tray, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to trays or carriers, and has particular reference to carriers or holders for a plurality of individual glasses,

' tumblers, or the like intended for the pur-' holding the pose of servin as many different individuals.

Among the objects of the invention is'toprovide a tray designed especially for use y a nursein a hospital in her attendance upon a number of different patients to whom medicines or the like of diiferent characters are to be administered in a safe, rapid, and sanitary manner. I wish it to be distinctly understood, however, that the invention in all of its main aspects is adapted for a 1 1 wider field of usefulness than that above in-', .25 i

dicated. I

Figure 1 is a plan view of atray embodying my improvements adapted for the support of twelve tumblers, parts being broken away. p I Fig. 2 1s a vertical transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, but indicating one of the tumbler covers lifted. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the device showing especially the nature of the hinge and the spring clip for card; and

.Figs. 4 and 5 are suggestions'of the manner of inscribing the front and rear faces of a tumbler cover card.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, I show a tray comprising a base 10 which may be essentially rectangular and provided with a rolled edge 11 for reinforcement, and to provide a slight elevation of the base abovethe table. Th as the parts attached thereto is preferably made of metal or some similar'material of a durable nature andlpreferably enameled so as to withstand any reasonable degree of heat for sterilizing purposes.

Secured to and extending upward from i the longitudinal median line of the base are uprights or standards 12 having right angularly turned feet 13 fixed as by rivets 14 upon the upper surface upper ends. of the standards. 2 a e our a resie base as well mem I metal of the base. The

nected by a horizontal-bar 15 which in-addition to stiffening and bracing said standards may serve either as a handle or attachment means for any suitablehandle for the manipulation of the tray as a whole. This .bar is shown as a channel member, the leg por- "tions of the channel ends of the standards by rivets 1'6.

Each standard 12 is shown provided with and seemed thereto I Specification of Letters lPatent. -Patented'June 10,1919- spanning the upper ,a pair of. oppositely arranged holding arms] a 7 terminating in loops or rings 18 the same horizontal plane, the inner or ad] acent ends of thefa'rms beingbent downward at right angles asshown at 19 and secured to the standard by rivets 20 common toboth of the arms. The loops 18 are calculated to receive and reliably support from lateral displacement as many glasses or tumblers supplied with medicines forthe several patients. Eacharm sufliciently from the loop to enable thenurse to 'manipulate any tumbler without touching or, disturbing any other tumbler. the sole support for the tumblers, but preferably they are large enough to permit the tumblers to stand on the base 10.

' Above the. arms 17 are a like number of brackets 21 secured to the standard 12 by audits loop are spaced next adjacent arm and The loops may constitute rivets 22 in a manner similar to the for securing the arms. To the outer h'onzont ally disposed portions of the brackets are freely pivoted a plurality of clips 23, each havinga rectangular outer .end and a 1181".

oomprlsing a flat member .or plate 24:

rower rectangular inner end and provided close toits center witha pair of laterally projecting pintles 2'5 pivoted in downwardly curved bearings 26. formed m a pair of fin- 'gers 27 at the outer end of the bracket. ..The

space between the fingers permits free fligotal orswinging movement of the clip, ited only, however, in the outward and downward swinging by the narrow inner end of the plate the under surface of the bracket.

ber ma readilybe formedfrom flat y a simple stam g orunchmg process. To the upper of tl ie cli is fixed a leaf spring 28' the \outer free en ad. which is adapted to bear upon the upper surface of the broader end of the plate 24 "Q 110' and so resiliently grip the inner or lower ge. of- -a memorandum card 29 which is ed adapted to lie flat upon a tumbler supported direotl against his plate the arm below the bracket under consid oration. Obviously the cards may easily be removed or interchanged from the clips when nowary. I Each card 29 constitutes immediately a cover for a-tumbler when supported as indicated, whereby the contents of such tumbler are kept as free as possible from contamination. 1 Moreover each card preferably constitutes an indicator as may be o'bserve'd from the two faces thereof represented in Figs. 4: and 5' at 29 and 29 respectively showing any suitable identification means for the several patients or directions, orders, observations, or the like pertinent to the nurses duties, all as will be well understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art. The, card may be individually inscribed either before -or after its introduction into the clip. Of the utmost importance; however, is the fact that for the use by a nurse who is charged with the attendance upon a number of diflerent' patients requiring different prescriptions, there can be no reasonable possibility for her to make an error in the administering of the medicines, and furthermore there is no immediate likelihood that she. may s ill any of the medicines or break the tumb ers unless grossly careless, which is not to be pre sumed. In my experience, however, in the hospital I am aware that by'reason of the clumsy facilities that obtain in many even well regulated hospitals, a nurse upon whom devolves the duty of attending a great many atients often tunes confuses the medicines and directions pertaining individually thereto; also I have seen a busy nurse in her attempt to serve a number of patients frequently spill medicines and break the apparatus Without suitable facilities for manipulating the tu-m blers. The convenience and reliability of this contrivance are materially respective cards 29 cooperating therewith.

I,cl'aim:

1. In amedicine tray, the combination of a base adapted .to directly. support a plurality of tumblers, rigid means extending upward from the longitudinalcenter of the tray, individual tumabler holding means conneeted to said upright means and extending increased by providing individual identification'marks 011 the brackets 21 and on thelaterally therefrom, a plurality OfblfiJGkGtS cation cover forithe glass, and a springclip to hold the cover and permanently pivoted to the upright'a'bove the top of the glass, F

said clip being adapted to support the cover in flat position upon the glass and to allow the same to swing upward and tilt rearward against the upper end of the standard.

WILBUR B. GRANT. 

